The 1902 institution on South Illinois Street is the most famous restaurant in Indianapolis. The shrimp cocktail with its incendiary horseradish-tomato sauce is a Hoosier rite of passage, and the steaks — dry-aged, prime — are some of the best in the Midwest. The dining room is dark wood, leather banquettes, and signed photos of celebrities and athletes.
Reservations are essential, often weeks in advance for weekend evenings. Upstairs is the more relaxed Harry & Izzy's, run by the same owners, which serves the same shrimp cocktail without the formality. Worth doing once even if expensive.